Baking apparatus.



C. F. FRIH'UFER.

BAKING APPARATUS.

APPLIGA'TION FILED JAN. 4, 1911.

Patented Feb. 2, 1915'.

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N N Q fi C. P.. FREIHGFER. BAKING APPARATUS,

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 4, 1911. l 1, 1 gysggg, Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

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G. E. FREIH'OFER.

BAKING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 4, 1911. 191 3157922@ Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

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C. F. FREIHOFER.

BAKING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 4, 1911.

Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

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6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

C. P. FREIHOFER.

BAKING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 4, 1911.

Petented Feb. 2, 1915.

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CHARLES F. FREIHOFER, 0F PHILADELPHIA, IENN'SYLVANIA.

BAKIN G APPARATUS.

Application tiled January 4, 1911.

One object of my invention is to provide a baking machine or apparatusparticularly designed for continuous operation, whose parts shall be soarranged as toparticularly adapt it forworking on a large scale, andwhich shall be so constructed as to be relatively simple, substantialand' not likely to get out of order. I further desire to provide an.apparatus of the above noted class in which a series of carriagescarrying the material to be baked, shall move through an elongatedheating chamber or oven under the influence of gravity; the inventionalso contemplating novel means whereby said carriages maybe returnedfrom the discharge end to the charging end of said chamber.

Another object of my invention is to provide a continuous bakingapparatus having an elongated heating chamber or oven, with a novelarrangement of inlet and outlet doors, in combination with novelmechanism whereby the passage of carriages y through said doors may becontrolledI at will.

These objects and other advantageous ends I securel as hereinafter setforth, ref-v erence being had to the accompanying drawings, in which h vFigures 1 and 2` are respectively a plan and a side elevation on areduced scale, il1ustra'ting a baking apparatus or machine constructedaccording to my invention; Fig. 3, is a'transverse section on the linea-Y-a, Fig. 4, illustrating the relative osition of the heating chamberand one o the furnaces; Fig. 4, is a longitudinal vertical sectionillustrating the construction of the charging end of the machine shownin Fig. 1; Fig. 5,'

is a longitudinal vertical section illustrating the detail constructionof the discharging end of the apparatus; and Figs. 6- and 7 arerespectively elevations, partly in section, of the charging anddischarging ends of the apparatus. p

In the above drawings l is an elongated heating chamber or oven in whichthe baking is performed and it is prefer- Speciicetion of Letterslatent.

Patented Feb. 2, 3.91%. serial No. 600,721.

ably though not necessarily of a Hat construction, its width being forexample about five times its height. On opposite sides of this chamberare built furnaces 2 which may be of any desired construction, and inthe present instance one set of these extends from one end to the middleof the heating chamber while the furnaces on the other side extend fromthey middle to the other end thereof; said furnaces being preferablymade each having a grate 3 and lire and ash doors 4 and 5. A smoke flue6 extends along the top of the oven and the flow pf the products ofcombustion in said liue from any one of the furnaces may be controlledby suitable dampers 7. For transmitting heat from 'the furnaces to theoven I employtwo sets of pipes 8 and 9, each of which constitutes anindependent vessel containing mercury or other/liquid capable of beingheated to a high temperature without decomposition. These two series oftubes extend substantially parallel to each other throughout the entirelength of the baking compartment 1a of the heating chamber 1 and one endof each tube or container extends into the furnace 2; "the tubes beinginclined to the horizontal with their furnace-heated ends lower than theother parts. Moreover, the tubes 8 are spaced away from the tubes 9 toprovide a passageway in which carriages or movable hearths 11 aredesigned to operate. For the purpose of supporting these latter Iprovide tracks 10 mounted on suitable shoulders or brackets extendingllongitudinally along opposite sides of the 'heatlng chamber or oven.Each of the carriages 11 consists of a frame 12 provided with a pair ofwheels or rollers 18 on opposite sides and carrying a platform or hearth14 ofrefractory material on which the loaves of bread or other materialto be baked may be directly placed.

In order that the carriages or hearths 11 may move from one end of theheating chamber to the other under the influence of gravity, .the tracks10 are given a suitable inclination to the horizontal so that saidcarriages tend to4 move from the charging to the discharging end of theheating chamber. In a second and preferablysimilar chamber 2a on the topand outside of the chamber 1, I mount a second pair of tracks 15, whichare inclined downwardly from the discharge end toward the charging endthe apparatus shown in Figs. 4 and 6, which 'consists of a pair ofchains 16 Von each side of the charging end of the heating or bakingchamber mounted 'on sprocket wheels 17 carried on a frame 18 or othersuitable structure. The chains of each pair serve tosupport a 'series ofshort track sections 19 and are so mounted and proportioned that whentwo sets of these sections are respectiveljT opposite the ends of thetwo rails 15., another similar pair of said sections-isopposite the endsof the tracks 10. For the purpose of controlling the operation of thislowering device or elevator I provide any suitable form of retarding andholding device or brake as well as a catch, and in the present instanceI have illustrated each 'of the upper sprocket wheels 17 of each pair asprovided with a pulley 20 on which a band brake operates; the two brakesbeing designed to exert a greater or less retarding force on thesprocket wheels depending on their adjustment. A hand lever 24 havingone or more arms forming catches normally retains one pair of tracksections 19 in line with the tracks l0 so that a carriage may bepermitted hto run from the tracks 15 onto a pair of the track sections19 opposite the ends of the same. Thereafter operation of the lever 24releases the track sections of both chains, and under the action ofgravity the carriage causes movement of said chains 16 until they comeinto such positions that the supporting track sections are opposite theends of the track 10. The'lever 24 is so acted n by a suit- 'able springthat its hooked arms 27 are normally held in the paths of the two setsof track sections 19 and stop the same in the positions above noted.

In order to prevent injury and"l possible og blocking of the apparatusby reason of anumber' of carriages pressing against each other at thelower end of theupper track 15, I provide means whereby but a singlecarriage at a time is permitted to run on to the upper pair of tracksections 19 of the elevator. For4 this purpose I provide a transverseshaft 28 carrying one or more escapement levers 29 and having an arm 30connected through a link 31, a ell crank lever 32 and a second link 33with an operating lever 34. I

The escapement lever 29 is of such design that when held in its normalposition by means of a spring 35, its forward end en-Y gages an.abutment or projection 36 on a j it being understood of course "l-"thatif there 1are twg levers 29 there is likecarriage 11 `wise a pair ofsaid projections. The length ofeach lever is such that when turnedtoraise its Dforward end outi of engagement with the carriage projection36, its real;- ward end is lowered immediate] in front of the similarprojection of anot er car, so

that while the iirst car is released to move under the action of gravityonto the track sections 19, the succeeding carsL are held from movementuntil such time as the forward end of the lever 29 is againlowered.IVhen this occurs, the entire line of carriages moves forward untilstopped by the engagement of the `pr0jection 30 df the foremost carriagewith the forward end of the said lever.

` In order to prevent the entrance of cold air into the heating chamberor oven as well as to prevent the escape of steam therefrom, I provide apair of doors 37 and 38, which may be counterweighted as shown andarranged to be alternately operated by any suitable means, such forexample as chain wheels connected to the shafts 39 and 40 which areextended outside of the heating chamber for their reception.

At the discharging end of the heating chamber, I provide riages aresuccessively delivered, and, after the removal of their. load, are runon to the upper Lend of the tracks 15. For this purpose I provide anelevator consisting of a frame 43 carrying on each side of the heatingchamber a pair of shafts 44 and 45. Each of these has fixed to it a pairof sprocket wheels which serve to support two endless sprocket chains 46carrying and connected together by, track sections 47 capable of beingbrought into line with the discharge ends of the tracks 10 and the uppermeans whereby the cai*- ends of the tracks 15; the distance apart f ofsuccessive track sections on said chains being equal to the distancebetween said ends of the tracks 10 and 15.

For positively driving the chains 46 I provide a motor 48 connectedthrough worm earing with a shaft 49 which" is connected to the shafts 44through the beveled gearing shown. This discharge end of the tracks 10isv likewise provided with some lescapement device whereby but a singlecarriage 11 is permitted to move onto the track section 47 at the end ofsaid tracks andl fory l this purpose one orvmore escapementlevers 50 maybe provided.` These levers, like the levers 29, are designed to coperatewith the stops, or abutments 36 on the carriages or hearths 11- asheretofore described and they are operatedat will by meansof an actu.-ating rod 21 connected to an arm 52 projecting from the shaft 53 onwhich' said lever or levers may be-mounted. Y p

A door 54 is provided at the discharge end of the heating chamber and ispreferably counterbalanced by a pair Aof weights of f which one 1s shownat 55. Any suitable form of motor controlling apparatus may be providedwhereby the motor 48 may be f started: at will when it is desired toelevate a carriage and thereafterbe caused to stop .when the. carriagehas been brought into such position that the rail. sections 47 are inline with the rails or tracks 15, but as such devices are well knownandsince the detail construction of a suitable controller forms in.itself no part of my invention, l have not illustrated it. 1f desiredsome device may also be provided' whereby each pair of railsections/47is forwardly tilted as it approaches its'position in line with the rails15 in order to cause the carriage to be automatically caused to'run offof said sections onto the rails 15 as soon as'the motor 48 has broughtone pair of these sections to the proper height. F015 this purpose I mayconnect to the forwardv ends of each of the rail. sections 47 an arm56-ywhich will engage a cam 57 just before such sections come into line withthe rails 1-5, thereby giving them the forward-pitch necessary to causethe automaticV running oil' of the carriage.

Under operatingconditions the furnaces 2 are fired in the well knownmanner and the liquid in the lower ends of the tubes or containers 8 and9 being heated and vapor- 1zed, moves from they lower ends -thereof intothe cooler upper portions within the heatingchamber 1a, thereby heatingthis to a predetermined degree. One of a number of the carriagespreviously mounted on the tracks 15 is then permitted to run onto theupper pair of rail sections 19 by moving upwardly the link 33 throughthe handle 34 and thereby swinging the catch lever or levers 29 so as tocause its forward end to release the part 36 of this rst carriage, whichthen runs onto said rail or track sections. Thereafter the nextcarriage, which has hitherto been held from moving forward by the rearend of the lever 29, is allowed to move forward when the operatinghandle 34 is returned to its normal position, until the front end ofsaid lever engages its part 36. By properly operating the handle 24 theoperator releases the lower pair of track sections 19 and the elevatorisl permitted to-lower the carriage thereon under the action of gravityuntil those sections supporting A`said carriage strike the hooked arm ofsaid lever 24. The

. loaves of bread or other material to be baked are now placed onv thecarriage and by suitable manipulation of the shafts 39 and 40, the door37 is raised after the door 38 has been closed, whereupon the vloadedcarriage is moved into the space between said two doors 37 and 38.Thereafter the.door 37 is closed and the door 38 opened so that thecarriage is permittedto enter the heating chamber. It is to beunderstood that ythis i latter a`t the beginning of operations is filledthroughout its length with empty carriages and it is `obvious that thetime each carriage remains within it depends on the rate at which thecarriages are removed from its lower end, inasmuch as they at all timestend to vmove toward said end under the action of gravity due to theinclination of the tracks 10.` If therefore, it be necessary that thematerial on the carriages be exposed to the temperature of the heatingchamber for a period of thirty live minutes and if the said chamber,when full, is of such length as to hold seventy carriages, then onecarriage must be removed every half minute. Since the bread is exposedfirst to the heating action of the tubes from furnaces on one side. ofthe oven and is thereafter eX- posed to the action of those on theopposite side, it nally reaches the lower or discharge end uniformlybaked.

In order to prevent the lowermost carriaget from striking the outletdoor 54, it is engaged by the hooked end of thc-lever 50. as shown inFig. 5, and when it is de` sired to remove the carriage with its bakedmaterial from the heating chamber, the bar 51 is pushed inwardly afterthe door 54 has been opened, thereby so moving the said lever 50 as topermit the first carriage to ymove under the action of gravity onto theproaches the upper part of the elevator, the

track sections 47 are tilted forwardly by reason of the engagement oftheir arms 56 with the xed cam surface 57 on the framework or ovenstructure, and as a result when said sections have been finally broughtinto line with the ,tracks l5 and the motor 48 stopped eitherautomatically or by hand, the carriage runs ofi' of said sections ontothe tracks 15 under the action of gravity. It is to be noted that theselatter tracks are inclosed in the chamber 2a which is similar to thechamber 2 and is heated by tubes 8% and 8b whose lower ends extend intothe furnace as shown in' Fig. 3.' The carriages in the same are therebykept hot. Since the tracks 15 are forwardly inclined, the

'carriages discharged onto 'them rest-one this art, the elongatedchambers with' the,

tracks, carriages-and apparatus for trans-v tracks to one end of thetracks in the heatferring said carriages from one chamber to the othermay under certain conditions be used without the furnaces and theirheating pipes without departing from my invention, since such anapparatus mayy be employed for receiving and holding dough While it israising and immediately prior to its introduction into the bakingapparatus above described and illustrated.

I claim p- 1. The combination of a heating chamber having an inclinedset of tracks; a second series of oppositely inclined tracks mountedabove the heating chamber; a series of carriages operative on thetracks; means for transferring said carriages from the upper ingchamber; an elevator for transferring carriages from' the opposite endof the tracks in the heating chamber to the upper set of tracks; with adevice operable from a point adjacent the elevator for insuring thedelivery of but a single carriage at a time to said elevator.

2. The combination of a heating chamber having an inclined set oftracks; a second series of oppositely inclined tracks mounted above theheating chamber; a series of carriages operative on the tracks; meansfor transferring said carriages from the upper tracks to one end 0f thetracks in the heating chamber; an elevator for transferring carriagesfrom the opposite end. of lthe tracks in the heating chamber to theupper set of tracks; With means for automatically causing the dischargeof the cars from the elevator onto the upper tracks# In testimonywhereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence oftwo subscribing Witnesses.

CHARLES F. FREIHOFER.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM E.A BRADLEY, WM. A. BARR.

